New approaches to cancer treatments are needed to yield effective and efficient cancer treatments. Some cancer treatments are directed to the p53 mechanism within cells. The p53 protein blocks the oncogenic effects of a number of oncogenic proteins that induce mitosis. Absence of the p53 protein is associated with cell transformation and malignant disease.
Cancer treatments which target the p53 protein within the cancer cells have been developed recently. However, some types of cancer cells do not have p53, while others exhibit p53 in a mutated, inactive form. Thus, these p53 targeting cancer treatments are ineffective at treating cancers as these treatments do not have any effect on cells with inoperative (mutant) or nonexistent p53. Also, normal non-cancerous cells have p53, so it is unclear what detrimental affects these treatments may have on non-cancerous cells.